RFE/RL Correspondent Injured On Front Lines In Iraq

October 24, 2016 11:27 GMT

Rasool Mahmood, a freelance reporter for RFE/RL's Radio Farda, was seriously injured during fighting in Bashiqa, northern Iraq, on October 20. He was accompanying Kurdish Peshmerga forces as they advanced on Mosul, a stronghold of the Islamic State militant group. Mahmood's injuries include a broken arm, a broken nose, and a badly damaged eye. His photos, taken shortly before the attack, show the continuing offensive against Islamic State fighters.

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Rasool Mahmood was hospitalized in Irbil after he was injured in an attack in Bashiqa, about 24 kilometers north of Mosul. He was apparently wounded by mortar fire. Doctors said there was only a small chance they could save his vision in his damaged eye.

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Mahmood was one of several journalists accompanying Kurdish Peshmerga fighters as they advanced on Mosul. The Peshmerga are fighting alongside Iraqi Army troops and backed by U.S.-led coalition air strikes.